Instructions

Connecting to the server

Follow these steps to connect to the server.

Open the client
You will see a dialog asking you if you wish to accept a certificate. You need to accept it for the client to function. (since it needs to open a socket to the server)
Enter the actual server name instead of localhost. (Leave the field saying 2400 alone.)
Click on Connect.
Enter your Login and Password and click Login. If you do not have a login, you can use one of the guest accounts. Use Guest1 or Guest2 or Guest3... as login (capitalized G) and none as password.

The client

Fields

Here is a description of what each field does:

Console: Type commands to be sent directly to the server. (type Commands at the console to get a list of the available commands and Help < command name > to get help on the specific command.
Answer: Type answers/solutions in here when you are in a game.
Send: Send something for every other player to see.
Say: Send something for everyone in your current game to see.

Note: You can press Alt+c to get to the console, Alt+a to get to the answer field and Alt+s to get to the send field.

Buttons

Here is a description of what the buttons do:

Connect/Disconnect: Connect to the server if you are not. Disconnect from the server if you are connected.
Options: Opens a new window to change your options or options of the client (see Options)
Create game: Opens a new window. Used for Creating a new game. The default values are the ones in your Options.
Game List: Opens a new window with the current games.
Player List: Opens a new window with the currently online players.
Messages: See the list of messages that other players have left.
Post: Post a message for other players to see with the Message button.
Leave: Leave the game you are in.(only available if you are in a game)
Ready: Says that you are ready for the next round of the game to start.

Options

Here is a list of options available. Note that there are 4 tabs (Client, Game, Player and Keys). However, only the Client tab is available when you are not connected to the server. Also, all options are saved on the server except for those in the Client tab which must be reset every time.

Client

Set options for the clients (these need to be reset every time the client is reloaded).

Font size: Change the font size of the main text window or game window. Note that only new messages will have the new text size.
Display server ok messages: Use only for debugging purposes. The server usually sends an ok message to acknowledge the receipt of a valid command.
Display commands to server: Display the text sent from the Console to the server in the main text window.
Auto Ready: Automatically click Ready between rounds of a game (immediately after the previous round ends).

Game

Set values for the default game created. See Creating a game.

Player

Set player options.

Ans mode: The answering mode that you will use in a game. All examples are given assuming that you are using the default Keys and playing a game of Basic 24.
- 0=Single Digit Reverse Polish Notation: See wikipedia for full description. For example, given 1,2,3,5, you could write 52+1+3* or 12+35+* or 521++3* as a correct answer. Note that only number between 1 and 10 can be entered in this notation (write 0 for 10).
- 1=Full Expression Write down the exact expression that gives the answer. For example, given 1,2,3,5, you could write (1+2)*(3+5) or 3*(5+2+1) as a correct answer.
- 2=Multi Digit Reverse Polish Notation: This is the same as single digit reverse polish notation except that everything (numbers and operators) must be separated by a separator (default is .). For example, given 10,2,3,5, you could write 3.5.-.10.2.+.* as a correct answer.
- 24=Intermediate Results Notation: Combine two numbers (using some operator) to make a number x. Replace those two numbers by x. Combine 2 of the 3 remaining numbers to make a number y (and replace). Combine the last 2 numbers to make 24 (or whatever the target number is). In this notation, you would write x.y where . is the separator. For example, given 1,2,3,5, you could write 3.8 (to mean 1+2=3,3+5=8,3*8=24) or 7.8 (to mean 5+2=7,1+7=8,3*8=24) as a correct answer. Note that if there are n cards, you will always write n-1 intermediate numbers in this notation. Also note that the order does matter (in the example, 8.7 is incorrect).
Display notices: Display server notices about things that are not immediately relevant to you (eg: other players creating games, other players leaving and joining the server).

Keys

Change the default symbols used to give an answer. Reverse sub refers to reverse subtraction (ie:a_b=b-a) and reverse div refers to reverse division (ie:a\b=b/a). These are mostly useful for reverse polish notation. Note that the separator (default .) is used to separate elements (numbers or operators) within a single answer. If you are playing a game with multiple sets, answers to different sets must be separated by space (" ").

Creating a game

To create a game, click on the Create game button. A window will appear where you can select the variant of the game to be created. Then click Ok to create the game. Here are what the entries in the window mean:

Game name: Name of the game that will displayed in the game list.
# Players: Exact number of players that will play in the game.
Target number: This value can have a different meaning depending on what Variant (specified by Game type) is played.
# Numbers: Number of numbers (originally cards) per set.
# Sets: Number of sets of numbers.
Number range: The numbers will be chosen between 1 and this number (pseudo-random, uniformly).
Game type: Type of game (see Variants) for description of the rules for each type.
- 0=Classic
- 1=No scoring, classic.
- 2=Classic, only possible combinations
- 10=Tony Four (constant answering time)
- 11=Tony Four (wait until everyone gives an answer)
- 12=Tony Four (original)
- 20=Closest to (constant answering time)
- 21=Closest to (wait until everyone gives an answer)
- 22=Closest to (original)
End score: The game ends when a player reaches this score (and that player wins).
Round time: Number of milliseconds (ms) before a round is declared a draw (and no player gets the point). Set this value to 0 (or less) to have an infinite round time.
Between time: After a round ends, the amount of time (in ms) before the next round starts (even when some of the players have not clicked Ready). The next round begins earlier if all players have clicked Ready.
Answer time: For variant like Tony Four and Closest to, the amount of time (in ms) a player has to write the expression to verify the correctness of the answer.